Barbara

Barbara takes place in a world of such profound paranoia that it’s never certain whether the title character is being overly cautious or reckless. Set in 1980s East Germany amongst intense Stasi surveillance, the film seethes with tension, but it isn’t your typical thriller. The suspense lies in whether the characters will be able to lead the lives that they want to lead....  read more

In Heaven, Underground

German documentarian Britta Wauer turns her lens on the Weissensee Jewish Cemetery in north Berlin, the oldest (and second-largest) Jewish necropolis still in use in Europe. Dedicated in 1880, it houses 115,000 graves, all meticulously archived in a card catalogue. Weissensee has witnessed 130 years of tumultuous Jewish—indeed, world—history and has as many stories as bodies buried among the bones....  read more